Monday, April 7, 2014

Lego Creator No. 31010 Tree House Part 4

Trying out the first alternate mode of Lego Creator No. 31010 Tree House, a lakeside hut after the completion of its main model in early February this year.

The Tree House is dismantled, and its parts are reorganized into smaller separate container before starting the (re)assembly. ^^

The minifigure holding a walkie talkie is the first component to be completed. ^^
Actually, since the minifigure is part of all three models, I didn't dismantle it in the first place. ^^

First set of parts to build up the base.

Based on their relative positions to one another on the base, more parts are added to form the foundation of the hut.
The red and black bricks are there merely for "ground support" (literally ^^), as they are going to be completely covered up in a subsequent step.

Adding in more parts to extend the foundation.

Adding in eight plates to form the hut's floor.

A peek into nothingness beneath the floor. ^^;

Adding in a few minor parts that will form the support base for the tree trunk later on.

Adding in the blue plate and a few other parts to form the lake area and jetty respectively.

More parts are put in to build the wall and steps leading up to the door.

Adding in a few minor parts to decorate the bottom corner of the lakefront.

Building up the tree with these brown and green pieces.

The temporary state of the entire model. ^^

White bricks appearing in the construction for the first time to form the hut's wall. ^^
Much like the minifigure, the three small windows (as with the large one) weren't dismantled before the assembly because there's no change to them as individual components across all three models.

Plenty of small parts to form one of the most interesting single components in this alternate model: an oven-equipped kitchen stove, and a pizza on a pan. ^^

The red bricks are supposed to indicate heat inside the oven I think. If that's true, the design is really quite ingenious. ^^

Done for the stove and pizza.

Not only can be cover be opened/closed via its hinges, the pizza can be fitted nicely into the oven chamber. ^^ There are even two burners on the cooktop. Very nice! ^^

Installed the stove inside the hut.
It seems that the wall and stove were designed very specifically in terms of their respective height, allowing the latter to not obstruct the window view. ^^

Adding in parts for the front wall, and a couple of accessories inside the hut.

(Left) A small table with a lamp (?), and a map (or some random wall painting ^^) hanged on the wall inside the hut.
(Right) The large front window panel can be opened to show the minifigure admiring the lakeside scenery from within the hut later on. ^^

Adding in the final batch of parts for the tree.

Light gray parts will form the "separator" between the hut's wall and roof.
As you can see, there are only four connectors in total on all the parts. This would allow for an easy removal of the roof. ^^

Only the roof remains before the entire hut is done. ^^

Plenty of large parts are involved to form the hut's roof.

Much like those used beneath the floor, those black and brown blocks shown in the left image serve merely "internal support" for the roof, as they are going to be completely covered up by parts of the rooftop.

There's small rectangular canopy above the front door. ^^

Adding in parts to form the the rooftop.
Those vegetation would mean that this lakeside hut actually has a living roof. ^^

Using the four connector pins showed earlier on, the roof is attached onto the hut.

The minifigure, and a small flag are the last components to complete the entire mode.

All done for the lakeside hut's assembly. ^^

Quite a few leftover pieces from the assembly. ^^

More images of the completed model:

Closeups on the details:

[The hut]

[Roof]

[Interior of the hut]

[Minifigure]

[The environment]

Interaction between the minifigure and the hut to create different display possibilities: ^^

The two doors have the right clearance to accommodate the minifigure, so you can show the fella entering or leaving the hut. ^^

"Baking my pizza." ^^

"Done! Wow, that was quick." XD
Unlike the Tree House, there's sufficient room for the minifigure to be placed at different points inside the hut. ^^

"Enjoying my morning scenery." ^^
The main window's position nicely matches the height of the minifigure. ^^

A really fun Lego model this is. ^^ For its size, the details inside the hut, and the accuracy behind their designs to match the hut itself are simply amazing. ^^ As compared to the main model, even though there aren't many explicitly promoted gimmicks for the hut, like the expandable ladder, hooked winch, tiltable red bucket, and tree base storage spot for the treasure map on the main model, the details of the hut are impressive enough to me. ^^ Even though it's smaller than the main model, more minifigures can be added to show a variety of activities around the hut. It would make for a merrier vacation scene I imagine. ^^

Speaking of the comparison with the Tree House, I also like the design difference between the two models. While the main model's main features are the tree trunks, and playable gimmicks associated with elements outside the actual little tree house, this lakeside hut focuses more on house itself, its visual details, but very little with the tree or playable gimmicks. The shift in focus is great because I don't feel like I was building something similar to the Tree House with this alternate model. There's a refreshing element in both the assembly, and the final product that I enjoy very much. ^^

Funnily, even though the hut seems complete with windows, including a functional one, a highly detailed kitchen stove, and even have some "furnitures" (the table, and lamp) and decoration (the wall painting), there's one feature that is missing on it: doors. XD From the Lego set's point of view, I can definitely understand why there's no door for the hut - there are simply not enough parts to make two movable doors. Apart from requiring special hinges on the door parts, their colors must match the wall as well. Also, given the exact tolerance between the entrance and the minifigure, I'm not sure if there's going to be enough clearance for the figure in front of the door if there's indeed one there. ^^ In the end, looking at the small scale of the model, I don't mind the absence of the doors at all. ^^

Will try out the last alternate model of this set, a 2-story farmyard barn in the near future. ^^